ITS and the effects on vulnerable road users: the case of motorcyclists

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) has existed as a generic concept for more than 20 years. In the beginning, the systems were adapted to personal vehicles, as with ABS and ESC, or part of infrastructure, as with Variable Message Signs (VMS). In more recent years, a generic trend of addressing traffic issues associated with the safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs), i.e. pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists has emerged. In addition, a new VRU-group has entered the scene: E-bikes. A more specific part of this reorientation has been the development of ITS addressing safety issues of VRUs. Three categories of ITS addresing VRUs may be distinguished: ITS carried by the road user him-/herself, ITS as part of infrastructure of the road system, and ITS in vehicles aiming at detecting and warning the car driver of a vulnerable road user in the viscinity of the vehicle.